According to police, the woman and her friend reached Digha on Saturday night and were trying to find a hotel when they met the two accused.

“The woman and her friend were on a motorcycle and were looking for a hotel to stay. They were asking about nearby hotels when they met the accused. The accused took them to a secluded spot under the pretext of taking them to a hotel and then dragged them by force. They tied the man to a tree after beating him up. The woman was taken to another forest and allegedly sexually assaulted,” said a senior police official, adding that the accused fled the spot later.

The woman and her friend reportedly sought local residents’ help and reached the nearest police station. Based on the woman’s written complaint, Digha police conducted raids and arrested the two accused from a village of the coastal town on Sunday.

“The accused were nabbed hours after we received the complaint. We are investigating the case. Prima facie, it appears that two people were involved in the incident,” Additional SP (Rural), Purba Medinipur, Shubendra Kumar told The Indian Express.

The accused were taken to a local court on Monday and have been remanded in police custody for 14 days.

The incident evoked sharp criticism of the state government from Opposition parties. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said its woman MLAs would be taking out a protest against the incident in Kolkata.

Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, “We have been saying this for a very long time that law and order in West Bengal has collapsed. Our women MLAs will protest against atrocities against women in the state during the Budget session of the state Assembly.”